1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to protective head gear in general and to floatable, lightweight, protective, snugly fitting sports head gear for water sports in particular.
2. Description of Prior Art
Water sports including surfboarding, windsurfing, sailing, canoeing, river rafting, water polo and the like involve activities in which protective headgear should be used to prevent or minimize injuries to a user's head, eyes and ears. Preferably, the head gear should be lightweight, buoyant and provide a snug fit in addition to providing protection for a user's head, eyes and ears.
Surfboarding and windsurfing are excellent examples of water sports in which a person can benefit from wearing appropriate protective headgear. For example, a surfer who falls from his board must always be concerned about being struck in the head by his board or by the board of a following surfer.
Most often, surfing is done in bright sunlight, especially in tropical climates. After an extended period without a visor or other sun shield, a surfer's eyes may become sore and suffer from a number of conditions such as pteryguim.
Wind and water bombarding a surfer's ears and entering the ear canal over an extended period may also result in adverse medical conditions such as exostosis.
A wide variety of protective head gear comprising features for protecting a user's head, eyes and ears is available, but it is generally unsatisfactory for use in water sports. For example, a football helmet comprises a hard, rigid shell with an interior padding and/or webbing for absorbing blows to a wearer's head. The shell typically is displaced from the wearer's forehead and thus provides a degree of visor-like protection to the wearer's eyes from the effects of sunlight.
While providing head, eye and ear protection, the football helmet, even without its mask, is unsuitable for use in water sports for a number of reasons. For example, the football helmet, like similar types of headgear, is bulky and heavy. Its interior padding is not generally waterproof. The shell does not fit snugly about a wearer's head, but is retained on the wearer's head by a chin strap. If worn by a surfer, the force of water against the interior surface of the shell during a fall acting against the holding force of the chin strap could produce considerable stress and strain on the wearer's neck. Moreover, since such helmets generally do not float in water, if the helmet did come off the wearer's head, it would most likely be lost.
A majority of other types of head gear which provide head, eye and ear protection such as, for example, helmets worn by motorcyclists, baseball players while at bat, bicyclists, skateboarders, racquetball players and the like, all suffer from one or more of the above-described disadvantages of a football helmet if worn by a person engaged in watersports.